Lab #2: Locomotor Skills

Tasks
A. To observe the interaction between Cortland students and St. Mary’s students.
B. Locomotor Tasks Part A Worksheet.

TASK A – OBSERVATION/REFLECTION

Observe the interaction between St. Mary’s students and Cortland students.

1. Observe the St. Mary’s student(s) as they participate in the activities. Describe the variability of the movement patterns you observed in your students. Be sure to note with whom you worked, what grade they were in, and any differences in age, gender, or ability.

The variability of the movement patterns was very limited. The only locomotive skill that Alexis and Colin could completely do was running. Both the gallop and hop were still missing vital steps when Alexis and Colin were attempting to do them. I did not notice any difference between male and female ability. The only difference in ability was the age difference, the older ones seemed to be able to do all of the necessary steps to complete the activities, unlike the 5 year old Alexis and Colin.

2. Describe the effective “teaching strategies” that you observed. What were they and on whom did you use them? How were they used? What was the effect? Were there any strategies that were more effective than others? If so, why?


The effective “teaching strategies” that I observed was when we were instructing the class we kept the instructions of the games short and sweet and gave examples, especially for the younger students. Another effective strategy that was used was play with the students so they could see how it was suppose to look, this can be used for students of all ages, if they get confused or don’t know what to do they can always just look at you to see what you are doing. There are strategies that are more effective than others because if you are giving the students way to much information chances are they won’t remember it all nor will the game be played like you intended. When this simple idea is broken games don’t go as planned which can really mess up a whole class period.

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Reflection:

Watching the students do the locomotive skills while playing games became difficult because most of the games were competitive and caused the students to run in the beginning and then for the last part they would do the skill. I would use games that are not competitive and more self challeging and reward the students.
I liked this lab because we learned how to use the TGMD-2: Test for Gross Motor Development. Which is a great tool to have as a P.E. teacher. It makes identifying where students are having problems with their motor development a lot eaiser, it's quick and very efficiant. I could see me using this tool in my P.E. class.